Managing healthcare worker (HCW) injuries

The injured person

• Report injury to line manager (For medical staff this is the consultant on duty)
• Notify the Occupational Health Service (OHS) by completing the Sharps / Contamination incident form available on the NHS Lothian intranet. The form can be accessed at https://lht.cohort.hosting/Cohort10/External/ExternalRegister.aspx

OR

• by searching NHS Lothian Occupational Health (https://weare.nhslothian.scot/occupationalhealthcommercial/) and entering ‘Contact us (https://weare.nhslothian.scot/occupationalhealthcommercial/contact-us/) Occupational Health

OR

• By scanning the QR code below which can also be found on the ‘Managing sharps and contamination injuries’ posters in your work location.

The line manager

• Clarify that a needlestick or Significant Exposure injury has occurred
• Ensure that the individual reports to OHS for advice and follow-up
• Carry out a risk assessment with assistance from OHS (see section Risk assessment of HCWs below)
  • For Regional Infectious Diseases Unit (RIDU) and Chalmers Sexual Health Centre (CSHC) staff, the risk assessment will be carried out by the consultant on-call, but the Occupational Health Service must be made aware of the incident by the injured staff member completing the Sharps/ Contamination incident form electronically
• Where high risk exposure occurred ensure that blood is obtained from the Source for BBV testing.

Recording the injury

There is a legal requirement for line management to accurately record injuries occurring within the organisation. Fill out an incident form in all cases.

The Datix reporting system must be used. Access to named information on the Datix system is password protected and restricted to key members of staff.

Fill in all details as usual, with the following exceptions:

• Source: Identify by initials and case note number only
• Injured person: Identify by initials and date of birth only

The full name of the injured party should be written down and kept at ward/department level only. Do not include the name of the injured person on any formal reports.

In every case fill in a BBV exposure risk assessment form.

• Completion of the risk assessment is the responsibility of the line manager (or senior clinician on duty).
• If required, assistance can be obtained from the Occupational Health Service by contacting the service on 0131 536 1135 option 1 then option 1 (during working hours).
• Email risk assessment form to OHenquiries@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk
• If the injury is sustained by a single-handed HCW (e.g. salaried dental practitioner), this person should contact the on-call OHS nurse or the duty Infectious Diseases (ID) registrar on-call or consultant for advice.

For HCWs (and third sector workers providing BBV dry blood spot testing) the OHS nurse arranges follow-up +/- need for HBV vaccination.

Following any occupational exposure to BBV, HCWs should attend for OHS follow-up as requested by OHS staff and report symptoms/signs of concern at any time.

HCWs who carry out exposure prone procedures (EPP) do not need to modify their practice pending test results.